[muawiyah]

In a number of places in Western India it's pretty easy to show up at a jain temple and think it's Buddhist ~ because they use the same statuary.

However, they have 24 founding gurus ~ and go back in time a lot further than Buddhism.

You can learn about THAT relationship by going to http://www.jainworld.com/ (and other Jain sites). They are not a huge group, they predate Buddhism, and have elements that sound distinctly Western rather than Eastern.

For example, they believe it is possible to develop moral precepts which are correct without also believing that there is necessarily a god behind those precepts (although there maybe a god there, it is not necessary).

I think that can be simplified to this ~ about 2500 years ago the Jains figured out how to have a SECULAR VIEWPOINT.

You'll want to pay attention to SKYCLAD vs. WHITECLAD Jains. They are different.

[driftdiver]

I trust a buddhist priest to know the difference between Jainism and Buddhism.